A Rating Liability is a charge based
on the occupation of commercial land and buildings,
administered by the Local Authority. The "Rateable
Value" of a property is assessed by the Government's
Valuation Office and can have similarities to the rental
value of the property.
The Local Authority use the Rateable
Value to calculate the level of business rates to charge
to the property occupier, by adopting a multiplier known
as the Uniform Business Rate. An appeal against a Rateable
Value can be lodged by a person having an interest in
the property.
If successful, and the Rateable Value
is reduced, then the local authority will reimburse
overpaid rates, backdated to the date of the Appeal.
There are various grounds for lodging
an Appeal. Also a number of reliefs from a rating liability
are available; for example in the circumstances of temporary
non-occupation of a property, charitable status of the
occupier, and the effect of major works of construction
adjacent or nearby to a property.
